About World Heritage

　　2. Natural heritage

　　For the purposes of this convention, the following shall be considered as "natural heritage":

　　natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations, which are of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view;

　　geological and physiographical formations and precisely delineated areas which constitute the habitat of threatened species of animals and plants of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation;

　　natural sites or precisely delineated natural areas of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty.

　　Ⅱ. UNESCO's World Heritage mission is to:

• encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;
• encourage states parties to the convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;
• encourage states parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites;
• help states parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;
• provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;
• support states parties' public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;
• encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;
• encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.